Air traffic controllers keep sky safe
Their often unseen work essential for air travel
By: Trevor Huges
USA Today
DENVER - They sit inside darkened facilities or lofty towers, surrounded by aging computers, speaking in clipped and cryptic phases. and the slips of paper they pass between each other represent the lives of millions of Americans who travel safety every day with their help.
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For the nation's air traffic controllers, the federal government shutdown has been the latest insult in their high-stress, high-stakes jobs where mandatory retirement comes at age 56, access to cell phone during the workday is strictly limited, they get as little as 10 hours off between shifts and they are subjected to random alcohol and drug testing multiple times a year.
..... Before the shutdown, the nation's air traffic control system has just under 11,000 fully certified controllers - 30% fewer than the government says we need. That meant controllers were already consistently working six days a week, up to 10 hours a day on mandatory overtime, with vacations strictly limited.
..... "While the money's great in the short term, when you;re working six days a week you literally have no life," said retired air traffic controller David Riley. "the shutdown really highlighted how bad the staffing is, and how close to the edge it is."
..... And when that shutdown began October 1, [2025] the paychecks stopped.
..... Riley, a former U.S. Marine who worked air tragic control for 32 years, said putting controllers in the middle of the government shutdown reflects the key role they play in the American economy.
..... Commercial aviation in the United States, from passenger travel to cargo flights, represent about 5% of the nation's annual gross domestic product, according to the Airlines for America trade group, and supports about 10 million jobs.
..... "They use (the air traffic control showdown) as a weapon against the flying pubic," Riley said.
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Federal law prohibits air traffic controllers from going on strike; when they did so in 1981 over pay and working conditions, President Ronald Reagan fired 11,000 controllers. Historians say Reagan's decision to fire the controllers sparked a wave of union-busting across the country.
..... Controllers who take sick leave during a shutdown can be docked back pay, although controllers are also allowed to take sick time for illness or fatigue.
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In the first week of November, [2025] federal Aviation Administration chief Bryan Bedford said 20% to 40% of controllers were not showing up for work on any given day, Reuters reported.
..... Multiple airports have been forced to limit arrivals and departures due to controller shortages. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on November 6 [2025] ordered airlines to cut traffic by 10% at the nation's 40 busiest airports, which he said would reduce the pressure on controllers.
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In a November 10 [2025] social media post, President Donald Trump said he'd recommend $10,000 bonuses for controllers who worked through the shutdown without taking sick time. But he also threatened controllers who called in sick or took a vacation since October 1. [2025]
..... The bar is high to join the profession,Applicants need to meet vision and health standards, get mental helaht assessments and commit to a high-stakes, high-stress job that's physically isolating a certified controller takes years of training usually starting at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City followed by several years of closely supervised on-the-job practice.
..... air traffic controllers typically work in one of two settings: either in a tower controlling the movement of airplanes landing or taking off at an airport, or in a regional center known as a "tracon" that shepherds planes between airports. surrounded by radar screens and GPS displays, the controllers make sure planes keep their distance so they can land and take off safely, don't last each other with their engines while on the ground and avoid midair turbulence. they need to be prepared to deal with midair fires, hijacking reports or medical emergencies at 36,000 feet or just feet from the terminal.
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And there's no room for error.
..... Riley, who worked in both towers and tracons, said going unpaid, as he did during the first Trump administration shutdown, added to the mental workload of controllers by distracting them with thoughts of bills and unpaid mortgages.
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"What's your savings look like? does your spouse work?" he said controllers are asking themselves.
..... controllers have already received two zero-dollar paychecks during the shutdown.
..... Riley said all the promises of eventual back pay ring hollow for controllers who are regularly working with just one day off a week in a job where even a momentary lapse of attention could be fatal for hundreds of people.
..... "This situation creates substantial distractions for individuals who are already engaged in extremely stressful work,' said Nick Daniels, the president of the National Ari Traffic Controllers Association Union. "The financial and mental strain increases risks within the National Airspace System, making it less safe with each assign day of the shutdown."
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Attorney Zachary S. Gorwitz of the Podhurst Orsek law firm said the ongoing shortage of controllers poses a growing risk to the traveling public. The firm has represented victims of fatal plane crashes around the world, and is currently representing a client suing over the January 29 [2025] midair collision in Washington DC, between an American Airlines flight and a military Black Hawk helicopter.
..... In that collision, where 67 people were killed, Congressional testimony revealed a single air tragic controller was monitoring both airplanes and helicopters that night, a job usually performed by two people, Gorwitz said.
..... He said air travel remains one of the safest modes of transpiration in large part due to the hard work of highly skilled and trained air traffic controllers - but there continuing to stress them out will enviably have consequences.
..... "I still believe that Americans should fly and feel safe doing so. But it is so important that the government reopen and start treating fella workers with the respect they deserve,' Gorwitz said. "We need to be putting these people into positions to succeed, and the way things are going, we're not."